Issue link: http://ncumarketing.uberflip.com/i/1296238
4 N O RT H C E N T R A L U N I V E R S I T Y: N C U M F T S U P E RV I S O R C O R N E R What do you enjoy about supervising? On one of the old AAMFT-approved supervisor manuals, they had a nice theme and I put it in our mission statement. It said, "… teaching, training, and mentoring the next generation of marriage and family therapists." I really liked that; whenever I say it, I want to give myself a group hug. The thing I enjoy most is helping to shape the next generation of marriage and family therapists and also other clinicians that we have that attend our school. The thing about being a post-degree institute is that you can enhance, and in some cases, correct some of the experiences that students have had in graduate school that have no direct relationship to reality. (He shared a story about a time that a student was told by her graduate school that "the empty chair" intervention was a narrative intervention. We discussed the importance of clarity for students.) I came into the profession from pastoral ministry, and when they taught us to preach, they told us, "Tell them. Tell them what you told them. Then tell them again." So, very little difference between education and preaching. The research says that, unfortunately, we only retain 30% of what we're told. What keeps you grounded? I can't think about a time I wasn't grounded. My father said I've been grounded since at least three. I have the kind of personality where, luckily, I'm able to balance and juggle things that I'm involved in. That never has been an issue for me. The big issue, of course, is the self-care during the COVID-19 era. A lot of the things that I enjoy doing, I can't do, like traveling, trips, certain recreational things. Now, my spiritual life is helpful, in addition to the relationships I have with friends, family, and even colleagues [are] quite nurturing. With a mechanism like Zoom, it makes it even easier. How do you support supervisees' awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion? That could take a whole interview. One thing we do is integrate it into the conversation and instruction that we do at school and in supervision. We don't shy away from it. Number two, since it's unavoidable, you discuss with your supervisees how it's impacting even your own supervisory subsystem. As an African American man who mainly has white women for supervisees, the issue of race and gender comes up all the time. I ask them appropriate questions and give them an opportunity to respond. As a quick example, I had a supervisor-in-training in Hawaii. At one point she said, "You know, I'm always waiting for the shoe to drop in our supervisory relationship." I didn't understand the metaphor. I said, "What do you mean?" She said every supervisor she had that was male, she thought they were being helpful, but found out that they were behind the scenes trying to sabotage her career. She said, "You know, you've been extremely helpful, so I'm hopeful that dynamic doesn't repeat itself." And I said, "Number one, I applaud your courage, particularly with the power differential that exists. For you to even raise that as an issue shows you have good ego strength. And secondly, let me assure you I have no interest in your failing. It is by you succeeding that I'm a good supervisor." The issue is often how much of that is felt, but not articulated, because there's a power dynamic in the supervisor-supervisee relationship. I try to give permission for people to bring up issues, not just in general, but how they impact them and the supervisor- supervisee and client system. The third thing would be involving them in an awareness of external systems. So many educational programs focus only on micro counseling skills. I feel that our students, particularly marriage and family therapy students, need to see their clients and our culture as a whole. One of our requirements is for them to attend regulatory board meetings so they get a sense of how the bigger picture of the profession is impacted by their state regulatory boards, who make decisions. Interns like to assist me with the legislative